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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Zahna Eklund

Mum branded 'insensitive' as she demands man moves out of priority bus seat for her kid

Getting on a packed bus is never a fun experience, and if you're travelling with young children, it can be even more complicated as you may have no choice but to sit them down next to a stranger.

But one mum has split opinions online after she said she recently demanded that another bus passenger get out of one of the priority seats at the front so that her five-year-old daughter could sit next to her.

The woman explained there was only one seat left when she and her daughter got on the bus, and it happened to be a priority seat that is often reserved for the elderly or for disabled people.

A wheelchair user was using the priority seating (stock photo) (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

She also said the seat next to this available seat was blocked by a wheelchair user, and so she asked them if they could move their wheelchair so that her daughter could sit in the seat.

In a post on Reddit, she wrote: "I was on the bus with my five-year-old daughter when we got on at a busy stop. There were no empty seats available, except for one near a person using a wheelchair. I asked the person if they could move their wheelchair to another spot so that my daughter and I could sit together, but the person declined, saying that they needed the space for their mobility device.

"I was taken aback and frustrated by this response. I explained to them that my daughter was very young and needed to sit next to me for safety reasons, but they still refused to move."

Rather than sit her daughter in the seat, the woman decided they would both stand, and said the journey was "uncomfortable and tiring" as a result.

But when she spoke to her friend about what had happened, she was branded "insensitive" for demanding the wheelchair user move to accommodate her.

She added: "I ended up having to stand for the entire ride with my daughter in tow, which was uncomfortable and tiring for both of us.

"When I told a friend about what happened, they said I was being insensitive. They pointed out that the person in the wheelchair had a right to the space they needed and that it was unfair of me to ask them to move.

"Now, I'm questioning whether or not I was in the wrong for asking the person to move."

And commenters were firmly on the man's side, with many saying it was inappropriate of the mum to ask him to move away from a priority space that he needed.

One person said: "Your kid can sit on your lap or you can ask someone else to move. A disabled person literally has ONE spot on the bus where they can be. YTA [you're the a**hole]."

While another wrote: "Just because you have a child doesn't automatically give you priority over others. If the bus is too crowded, take a taxi. Otherwise, you're going to have to deal with the downside of public transportation. You were frustrated at the response because you're so accustomed to getting your way. I too have a child the same age. Plan better."

And a third posted: "How were they supposed to move? Every bus I've taken has a designated spot for wheelchairs and they have to flip the whole bus seat up so the person can park the chair there.

"You could stand and your daughter could sit, or she could sit on your lap, or you could both stand."

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